


A torn veil

by itstiredandy



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders
Genre: Halloween, Other, Spirit stuff, Spirits, spooky season
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-01-15 15:34:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21255653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itstiredandy/pseuds/itstiredandy
Summary: Two witches get dragged into protecting their own little town with a distrusting spirit while they find ways to mend their own relationship.TW, Deceit’s in the fic and Remus is mentioned





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> I’m just happy i can post part of this on halloween mah dudes, hope you enjoy!

Roman remembered with perfect detail how he had met Virgil. Both had been nearly the same age at the time - Roman being nine and two months and Virgil, eight -, and while Roman walked around the town market to buy supplies for his home, with a list Dahlia had given him, he found a boy curled up by one of the market tents. The child he saw then had kept his knees and legs close to his chest, trembling with the cold air of October.

Squinting his eyes at the sight, Roman had decided to ignore him and his situation all together for that first time. Really, what could he do? But when he had to go to the town market again, a week later, the boy was still there. His hoodie looked dirtier, in desperate need of a patchwork, and the owner himself seemed to have become thinner. Having bought a dozen apples mere minutes prior, Roman threw one of them to the boy. He eyed down at it, grabbed the fruit and rubbed it on his clothes to clean it up. Roman did not stay to see if he took a bite or not.

By the fifth week of seeing the same person hiding at the market, Roman finally decided to approach him. He knelt down next to the kid, with only one knee, and cocked his head to the side.

“What are you doing here?” 

The kid only acknowledged him with his words. “Who wants to know?” 

“Someone who’s seen you here, alone, in the cold, starving, for five weeks in a row.” He shot.

“I’m fine.” The boy shot back and Roman was ready to stand up and leave when he heard a whisper. “Thank you for the apple.”

A lot more weeks passed by before Virgil decided to answer Roman’s first question (1). And another one before he told him his name. Not a full week later, Roman took his guardian with him to the market, making her meet the boy from the market.

(1: It was a rather sad story. His so called parents brought them there one day and “forgot” to take them back. Maybe it was because they had never been very affectionate or caring of their child or because he had a naturally skeptical personality, but Virgil understood very well that they wouldn’t be coming back for him. He had very notion that they had abandoned him and it was a grim thing for an eight year old to be aware of.)

“Would you like a place to stay?” She had offered. “Some place to call home?”

Virgil had gulped in reply, before nodding slightly and averting his gaze. His shyness was something that had never really changed in ten year of Roman knowing him.

“Come on.” The guardian extended him her hand, and the boy took it. “I think you’ll like what we have.”

Now, Dahlia had needed a lot of prodding and begging from Roman himself to do this. However, she was very happy to get someone else to teach witchcraft to. Double however… their training hadn’t lasted too long. Little over a decade later, Dahlia was summoned for a special task. Now, she did this every year, but this time, their teacher never returned home.

And that, my friends, is how Virgil became Roman’s assistant, as well as his apprentice. What he has to say about it though, is that Roman is the worst teacher ever.

“HEY!” The man had objected after hearing his friend’s first complaint. “My methods are impeccable, I can’t help you if you’re not smart enough to keep up with them.”

Sighing as he rolled his eyes, Virgil had replied. “Lots of subtilty there for calling me stupid, Kastler.”

“N-, I mean-” Roman cleared his throat. “Well it wasn’t meant to be subtle. Dahlia would work me harder than she did you, so you don’t get to complain.”

“That’s not how people work.” His student shot back.

“I know how people work!” He himself had snapped, voice cracking with frustration.

And his statement was a rather exaggerated one since Roman could barely understand himself. An example was exactly how strict he was with Virgil’s teachings. He had had it a lot easier with Dahlia, that was true. He could not, for the life of him, say why he was so harsh on his friend. They’ve had a few arguments over it, and once, Virgil had almost ran away. Roman was trying to ease up but… he wasn’t too good at it.

As Halloween neared, he had an ide, something that might help both of them to relax. Roman figured they could go on a trip, to watch the annual show of crystals. The event was held an hour away by foot. That time was cut short if you took a broom, but Roman refused to ride one of those again. (2)

(2: The Tragic Incident, as Roman would later refer to it as, had involved a dare from his brother, Remus - who isn’t important to this story, and is currently off somewhere fighting dragons, he’s had a fascination for the creatures since he was a toddler - and a malfunctioning, uncared for broom. Roman broke two arms and one leg, rendering him useless for little over a month. Imagine, Roman Kastler! Stuck inside his house for full thirty days! That had actually been an actual nightmare for him, he’d regarded it as one of the all time lows of his life.)

“The Crystinally?” Virgil furrowed his eyebrows at the invite, biting back a smirk Roman managed to see coming from a mile away. “We can really get there this year?”

“I mean, sure, why not?” Roman grinned with a shrug. “I got the tickets this morning and if we leave in,” he turned around to check the grandfather clock in the living-room, “an hour and fifteen minutes, we might there before they start serving the food.”

“Hm..” Virgil pushed his sleeves down his hands, grabbing both as he pouted. “Sounds fun.”

“YES. Very fun. Now come on, go change.”

“Will you?” His friend questioned.

“Of course!” He gasped, looking down at the clothes he’d been wearing since that morning. “Who do you take me for? A barbarian? I need to get into something clean and polished.”

“There’s literally nothing wrong w-”

“CAN’T HEAR YOUUUU!” Roman singsung his way into his room to change.

Roman waltzed (3) back into his room. In his snazziest outfit, he leaned against the door frame; an attempt at fishing a compliment out of Virgil.

(3: This was the most accurate description, the man danced the waltz to move.)

His friend took a moment to notice him there.

“Oh, you look...” Virgil cocked his head to the side, “prepared, now let’s go, huh?”

With his shoulders dropped and jaw slightly unhinged, Roman grunted as the other man walked out.  _ Why do I ever brother? _ He aspirated in his own thoughts.

Crystinally was a nightly event that lasted up to six of the next morning. They hadn’t needed to leave so early. Yet, watching the festival be set up while they managed to serve you food... Ah, yes. That, that was what they left early for. It was a lively setting, witches and decorators worked to make the scenery shine, all with a harmony you’d only find with the most hardworking and patient people. 

The witches took the journey side by side, mostly in silence. This was out of the ordinary since usually, Roman was the definition of talkative, even if Virgil was not, so there was always a conversation happening. However, when he struggled, the silence between the two was overwhelming. Virgil had always been comfortable with this. Roman hated it (4).

(4: Not how Virgil was comfortable with the silence but the silence itself. Really important distinction.)

However, as they began to reach town, this quiet between them was drowned out by whispers. People would exchange rumors like it was its own kind of currency, regardless of where they were or where they came from, it was their form of entertainment. The topics being discussed by the town‘s people on that Halloween morning were gruesome deaths, and the weird accidents that caused them.

Roman was horrified, but not surprised. Since he could process complex information and interpret ideas, Roman had been told of the events that take place every Halloween, by Dahlia herself. Was it too much for a five year old? Perhaps. Dahlia, at the very least, was as gentle and as euphenasing (5) as she possible could be.

(5: Euphenasing, meaning using a lot of euphemisms, meaning trying to make horrible things sound not so horrible, after all)

Virgil, however was clueless about all of this. Simply because he hardly ever went out, and because Dahlia wasn’t sure of how to approach the subject with a child that had not been, originally, under her care. 

It was not unexpected when he tugs at Romans sleeve and asks-

“What’s going on here?”

“Maybe we should take a break.” The older one stopped and due to this, caught a glimpse of a tavern nearby. “We still have time, let’s go in there.”

“Roman-“

“I’ll explain everything inside.” He grabbed Virgil by the arm and started walking.

“Okay but you’re creeping me out with all the secrecy.”

“Just- you- can you just go with it? McDoubtful?”

“...Fine.”

Roman, with his grip still tight on Virgil’s arm, took him inside the tavern and got them seats on a table near the exit door. A waiter comes by, the men only ask for a glass of water each. When they leave and are out of hearing range, that’s when Roman begins.

“First, tell me what you know about Halloween, Virge.”

“What do-“ 

He would have asked what does Halloween have to do with all the rumors in town. Roman, having know Virgil for long enough at this point, anticipated it.

“It just does! Now, go on, please.”

“...Okay- hm, I know it’s a holiday where people dress up and ask for sweets. And also, it supposedly, it brings the end and the living closer together for like... twenty-four hours.”

“Well, you’re right, it actually does that.” Roman breathed in deep, preparing for the explanation, “Between us, the living and the dead, I mean, lies something called a veil. It is supposed to keep the spirits and humans separated but, except for today.”

Virgil shook his head when he was done listening and processing. “Why-“ (6)

(6: This is when the waiter came back with their water, and when Roman stopped talking. This meant that the information was sensitive, or... just hard to believe. The waiter might’ve heard a sentence or two before approaching, they had been definitely chalking up the accidents as just that, accidents. There were very few people who believed in spirits and other supernatural phenomena, even in a world full of mediums and witches)

“I can’t say for sure.” Roman answered, careful not to raise his voice too loud. “It’s supposed to be a historical celebration, the spirits were supposed to be ancestors, bringers of peace and history. But in recent years... They’ve become violent. Evil. And Halloween as a holiday, strengthens all the spirits. Both good, and bad. This is just my theory though. And the... incidents we’ve heard about today, were almost definitely caused by the evil spirits. Most of them, anyhow.”

The apprentice’s face fell. His eyes widened and his jaw hung ajar, as though the air had been knocked right out of his lungs.

“Wh- Really?”

“Yes. And I had been hoping this year would be different, I really had, it just seems like my wishes weren’t strong enough so we must be careful.”

Virgil took a while to reply again. “Roman, we should just turn around and go home now.”

“Virge, it’s not as though we are completely defenseless! We can fight back, I shall not let any evil spirits hurt us.”

“How can you be so confident about this?”

“I’m sure well aware of what I can and cannot do.” Roman leaned in and grabbed Virgil’s hands. “I was trained by the best.”


	2. two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please be kind and leave a comment!

Moments later (7), as they - somewhat reluctantly, on Virgil’s part - resumed their journey, a storm hit. The strong wind pushed them around, the rain took a mere minute to completely soak both men and then thunder soon followed to complete the scary aesthetic.

(7: See, Virgil had not been convinced by the ‘trained by the best’ comment, Roman had had to promise to all possible divine entities that Dahlia had taught him enough to protect himself and others, which mean Roman had had to tell him every strategy, every spell and every maneuver he remembered, just off the top of his head. Only then, did they call for the tab and left the tavern.)

“I knew this would happen!” Virgil yelled over all the noise.

“I hardly think you predicted a storm, Virgil.” Roman yelled back.

In a rush, the older wizard fumbled through his bag and after a minute, finally takes out two marbles out of it. Both are small, clear and purple but transparent. Roman hands one to Virgil.

“Use this!”

Smashing his into the ground, Roman saw the bubble that enveloped his friend a second later. Both witches were, then, protected. From the rain, at least. The bubbles have their limitations, as all magic does. So see, if a patient maniac with a strong enchanted chainsaw tried to penetrate the bubble for some minutes... they would eventually manage. Those bubbles would keep them safe just long enough from them to find shelter.

Neither Roman nor Virgil could say how much time they spent on trying to find a place to wait out the storm in. It happened when they crossed over to the next village, the one where Crystinally was usually held (8). As they neared the residential area, they saw a man who opened his door in the middle of the storm, calling out of the men. Roman didn’t think twice before dragging Virgil inside with him. Yes, it was a bad idea to trust a stranger but so was staying out when nature had been so angered.

(8: It would still be held there, but the storm delayed things. As well as destroyed a lot of things. Fortunately, a lot of witches work at the festival every year, so the damage was contained to a minimum. Still, the sight Roman and Virgil saw during the storm was somewhat haunting. Mostly because of the people that had been hurt, and the people who would, surely, even with medical help, die. Sorry for the continuous grim commentary, folks.)

Inside, Roman made their bubbles pop away.

“Why, hello.” He greeted. “Thank you for the rescue.”

“Yes, hum, perhaps you should not thank me just yet. I have a favor to ask of you.”

“What, exactly?” Virgil beat him at asking.

“First, I should introduce myself. I am Emile Picani. Perhaps we should sit down.”

Picani led them to the table, with chairs for the three of them. The host was the first to sit down followed by Roman, and lastly Virgil - who fidgeted in his seat, getting ready to flee at any sign of trouble. Their host began to explain, or tried to. Emile opened and closed his mouth more times than Roman had cared to count, probably searching for the right words (9). This went on until it ennerved Virgil enough to get him to snap at the man. 

(9: Take it from the author, there are hardly any right words to explain something like this kind of thing)

“Just spit it out!”

“I am terribly sorry, it’s just that this is a sensitive issue and I’m unsure of where to start my explanation. I did not mean to make you anxious.” Picani took a deep breath. “This storm is not an act of nature. The spirits, this Halloween, are very angry, I’m afraid. And this is their doing.”

At this, Roman huffed. ”That much we figured, hobbit (10).”

(10: Emile was not a short man, by any means. He wasn’t even shorter than Roman, the man towered over him with mere two inches more. Roman, however, felt like he was being talked down to, so he would take any and all opportunities to make himself feel superior.)

All that was left was for the man to tell him and Virgil that they had to fix it! HA, as if. 

“Good, perhaps you know why the spirits roam free on Halloween?”

“Yes.” 

A tiny little lie, or maybe not. He did have a theory.

“So, can you perform the spell to bind them behind the veil?”

“No, I cannot.” 

Another lie. This time, a real one.

Dahlia had taught him years before disappearing. He had never tried to do it on his own, but theoretically, he could - he knows the ingredients, the words for the spell, everything.

“But you’re a witch.”

“In training.” 

Technically.

“But Leuen was so su-“

“Who’s Leuen?” This was Virgil interrupting.

“Well, a spirit. However, he’s not been corrupted yet. He will be, if this Halloween is over and the veil is not restored, if the corrupted spirits are not bound behind it as they should be.”

“What do you mean?” He snapped again, emphasizing the last word.

“See,” Picani shifted in his seat to face him, and straightened his posture, “if the veil remains broken, the already corrupted spirits will gain enough power to corrupt just about everything, not only other spirits.

A nervous kind of snicker rose on Roman’s throat. “How can you be so sure?”

“Leuen-“

“And what credibility does he have to us, again?” Virgil stood up. “We don’t know shit about this guy, Picani. And frankly, I’m not all jazzed about all this business, I signed up to watch a crystal show, not save the goddamn day, you know!”

“I’m sure.” Picani nodded with the patience of a holy man. “We can talk with him, if you’d like, you see, I’m a medium.”

“So convenient.”

“Please, just let him show you something. I promise you can leave if you don’t find it enough.”

“Fine.”

At Roman’s grumble, Virgil sent him a glare. The alarming sort of glare that yelled at you and asked what the hell you’re thinking. The man sent those to Roman on a, nearly, daily basis.

“Virge, we’ll get a move on faster this way, okay?” He defended his choice and then turned to Picani, “It’ll be five minutes, right?”

“Perhaps a bit more, I need to summon him. He usually responds rather quickly though.”

After a grunt and rolling of eyes, Virgil said, “Just start it already.”

And so the medium did. Giving both witches instructions to sit in a circle and hold hands (11). After lighting up some candles and putting, in the middle of the table, a black bowler hat, Picani sat and called for Leuen Decanis. The last name sounded somewhat familiar to Roman, but as soon as he managed to grasp anything related to it at all, the idea disappeared, like a popped bubble.

(11: The holding hands part was the strangest one. Not because any part of a seancé is strange - if every part of it is strange then none of it is - but because, in both Roman and Virgil’s cases, they did not like holding hands with a strange man that had just, essentially, told them they needed to save their hometown.)

“Hello?” Picani tried. “Leuen, are you there?”

“Emile,” 

The disembodied voice that replied was smooth and low. It dragged out the words as they spoke so it often seemed like just one big word when it was actually a whole sentence. It would be pleasant to listen to, if it did not have a Creepy Factor Roman could not recognize.

“Wh-“ Leuen stopped, and then continued, “Oh, I see we have guests.”

“Yes, I’m sorry to call you so suddenly. However, we should prove to these men the catastrophe that this Halloween may bring.”

“Of course.”

Although they couldn’t see this person yet, the voice had been enough to give the witches some creep chills. It was the way he spoke, as though he knew he had a dangerous secret and he just loved having that kind of leverage over somebody.

“I will need a little help to materialize, I’m afraid.”

“Wh-“

“You’ll see” Emile answered. “Just tell me when, Leuen.”

“Let us start.”

The faint outline of hands flickered on Picani’s shoulders. It grew some visible as the living human breathed in, deeper and deeper with each one. Next, some faded colored filed in the lines, and then the rest of his body came into view. Leuen was a head taller than Picani, and leaner too. Burn scars covered the left side of his face, but the spirit smirked with ease. He looked pale, almost albino. Although, if that had been his actual skin color when he was alive or if it was a side effect of being dead, Roman couldn’t tell.

“Hello, people.” Leuen greeted once he was fully formed. “Nice to meet someone else.”

“Yes, hi, hello there, how exactly are you going to prove anything to us?”

Virgil called attention to himself. All eyes on him, except Roman’s. Maybe the pressure on him would be lessened if there was one less pair of eyes looking at him.

“Well, you see,” Leuen moved, leaning above the table as he showed off his arm, “I have a card up my sleeve.”

As if the image was enough to answer any and all doubts, that’s how he acted like. The card up the sleeve Leuen had referred to was the darkened and, seemingly, hardened skin on his arm and it brought on more questions than it answered.

“Ho-“

“A corrupted spirit tried to take him last night.” Picani interrupted Roman.

“That looks nasty.” Virgil half whispered.

“Yes, it didn’t feel so good either.” Leuen’s replied had a certain snark to it.

“It's a sign of corruption.”

“That- it hardly proves anything (12)”

(12: This was Roman, pretending not to be scared, with the same confident of someone who didn’t have much at all.)

“What about all the accidents you’ve heard, then?” Leuen shot.

“Mere hear say!”

“You believe everything we’ve just told you, you just don’t want to.”

“Roman?”

He sees Virgil turn to him, with lips parted and furrowed eyebrows. In his word, there was also an unspoken question, that being,  _ what is he talking about? _

Dahlia’s disappearance was because of this. Roman doesn’t want to disappear too.

“I really don’t see how I can help.” 

So he dodged, well, everything, instead.

“By performing the damn spell, I’m sure Emile has told you this already.”

“You were listening?”

“Always.”

“You’re cute, but look,” Roman pointed at the window, “the storm seems to be over now so Virgil and I might as well just be on our way.”

“We hadn’t told them our names...” Virgil muttered as he was dragged to the door.

“So, goodbye.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'll probs end this by next year's halloween lol  
hope you enjoy the chapter!

And outside, they kept on walking. The ground was still wet, however, this made things slightly more difficult, so the men slipped and nearly fell every once in a while. Until both of them actually did.

And Roman burst out laughing when his butt hit the ground.

“You’ve gone insane.” Virgil shot, trying to stand up.

Taking a deep breath, the older witch swiped away a tear. “No, no, I just- I- I think that all of this is absurd, alright? All I wanted to do was watch a show with a dear friend, couldn’t that ever, oh EVER, happen without us being dragged into something else? I say no way, Virge, I’m done.”

“With what, exactly??”

“Nothing.” He got up to his feet. “And every thing. Now come on, we’ll be late for the Crystinally.” 

“Roman, I don’t care about that right now, you’re being weird.”

Turning on his heels, Roman faced his friend. “Whatever do you mean?”

“Our conversation with Leuen, is what I mean. You were freaked back there, what was that about?”

“Nothing, Virgil.”

“Bullshit.”

“Well, I’m not comfortable talking about this.”

“Roman-“

“Virge, please.” His voice wavered with the plea.

Virgil sighed and closed his eyes. A moment later, he replied, “Fine, let’s go.”

This was when a figure appeared right in front of them. Both men screamed and fell down to the slippery floor again - Roman landed on his butt for the second time while Virgil managed to land on his side and hissed in pain. They looked up to find it was Leuen that scared them half to death.

The spirit spoke before either of them could. “He,” He pointed at Virgil, “may be willing to let this go but, who says I am? Unfortunately, my very existence depends on the damn spell you can cast. I’m not leaving you alone until you do it.”

“Oh, fuck off!” Virgil shot, standing up to face him.

“Excuse me?”

“Can’t literally any other witch do this? We’re hardly the only ones!”

“You are the only ones around! The others are all too far away and would not get here in time.”

“So they’re incompetent, is what you’re saying? Cus they could just use a spell or-“

Leuen gritted his teeth. “They don’t know the spell.”

“Of course they don’t!”

“I am not losing my mind due to two idiots being too selfish to do their goddamn jobs!”

“It’s never been specifically our jobs to do this!” Virgil argued. “Look, I’m sorry the person who used to do this died or wh-”

“It was Dahlia.” Roman spit out right then.

“Huh? (13)”

(13: Virgil had genuinely not heard a word of what Roman had said. He had been angry at Leuen in Roman’s behalf, and didn’t register when someone else spoke. This gave Roman a second to think if he should really say it, if he should tell him that specific piece of information right then. But if not then… when?)

“Dahlia used to cast the spell here, every year.”

His friend stared at him with a blank expression for what seemed like years to everyone involved, yes, even Leuen. The disbelief grew on Virgil’s face as he processed what he’d just been told, as he processed the fact that Roman had kept this from his for years, as he processed that that might’ve been from a lack of trust between the two, and as he processed that that made him angry.

“You never told me.”

“What would have been the point?”

“Oh, I don’t know!” He raised his voice. “Seems like a pretty important piece of information to me! You could have told me because Dahlia was my guardian too, or just to make conversation, because I’m your friend!”

“Virgil-”

“So you’re scared to do this because of what happened to her, right? Well, she’d make us do it regardless, so we are.”

“Virgi-”

“No pleas, you lost that right!”

“Glad we worked that out.” Leuen cut in. “W-”

“You, quiet too!” Virgil turned on his heels to shout at him. “You were, like a damn second away from threatening us to do this shit, so I’m not too pleased with you right now either.”

“Oh yes, how hurt I am-”

“Dickhead.”

“Am I now? I hardly care.” The spirits stared down at the older witch, who had gone quiet again. “Get a move on, we have a time limit.”

“Yes, yes,” Roman replied with a certain… disregard, “I know. We should get back to Picani’s. He may have an ingredient we need.”

That’s exactly what they did. They hadn’t walked all that far from the medium’s house, so the time they lost had been nearly irrelevant. Nearly.

Emile Picani greeted them back with elegance and good spirits, as if Roman hadn’t stormed out minutes prior, the way he had. Acknowledging his mistake from then would embarrass him to death (14), so instead, Roman just got straight to the point.

(14: This would be a rather pathetic death for a witch, it was #3 on a list of pathetic death for witches. #2 was broom riding and #1 was old age - which was still, somehow, very respectable since witches tended to have shorter life spans due to the… unsafety of their jobs.) 

“Would you happen to have any parchment paper or petals of sunlight flower?”

“Parchment paper, yes.” Picani went to the living room to open a cabinet. “How much do you need?”

“Just a page is fine.”

Roman had it in his hands a mere minute later. Rolling it to fit the paper inside his bag, he cleared his throat and addressed the host. 

“Thank you.” Then, facing Virgil, he continued. “Now we must find a sunlight flower, it’s rather common, we can find it in the forest. And the last ingredient firework sparks, that’s something we have to make ourselves. It’s a good opportunity to teach you something new, Virge- Virgil. (15)”

(15: The sharp and annoyed look his friend gave him made Roman avoid nicknames for a bit. It had seemed like he had lost that right too.)

“Let’s head to the forest then.” 

Virgil left the room before the other witch and spirit. If he was in such a hurry to get it done, why had he forced them to do the job anyway? If was what Roman asked himself as he watched his friend leaving.

“Wow.” Leuen spoke, speaking his transe. “He really doesn’t take any bullshit, huh… I admire that.” 

Ignoring the comment with a hinged jaw, Roman turned to the medium and spoke to him only.

“Goodbye. Thank you for your help.”

Picani, in return, waved with a smile and all the sympathy in the world. He must have the patience of a thousand saints, Roman muttered under his breath. Meanwhile, the spirit already managed to get on Roman’s nerves so many times since they’ve met it was beginning to cross the line from comic to utterly stressful. And they had to work together until the damn spell was performed. If Leuen hadn’t already been dead…

It was a morbid thought to have. Roman pushed it away and stepped outside.

“Roman, you ass, let’s go.” Virgil called as they met.

As they set off, Leuen remained quiet for most of the way, unless he detected some mistake or some tension between the both witches, in which case, he made sure to be as annoying and as provocative as possible with his remarks. The journey would have been a lot easier and smoother without the spirit of Satan breathing down their necks. Roman was beginning to think the pathetic death from earlier would have been a better end for him.

And then there was Virgil who barely acknowledged Roman - he preferred to take pot shots at Leuen whenever the spirit spoke. To be fair, they were pretty funny as well as deserved, in Roman’s opinion, and the older witch snickered at them almost every time. However, the cold treatment got on his nerves. He had even saved his friend from tripping on a giant (16) tree branch and Virgil had refused to even mutter, in the lowest voice he could muster, a simple and short ‘thank you’. He could’ve even cursed in Roman’s direction and it would have sufficed. At least then, Virgil would have looked at him.

(16: Virgil hadn’t seen the branch because he had been too busy focusing on his feet. Cause see, it took a bit of effort on his part to ignore Roman the way he had been. He would remind himself of why he was mad in the first place about every ten minutes or so.)

When they had arrived at the forest, and spent nearly an hour searching for the sunlight flower, things became even more nerve wrecking. And this was when something dawned on Roman like a heavy weight fell to the ground with the force of gravity..

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face his companions to share his realization. “It’s harvest season, isn’t it?”

“What?” Leuen questioned.

“I don’t know how long you’ve been dead for, Doctor Duke of Evil (17), but harvest season is when people go into the forests and take some resources, there are limits of course but there are a lot of people for a not exceeding amount of resources. This is done every year, to avoid us taking everything all the time and give the forests enough time to recover, I suppose.”

(17: This was another excuse for Roman to insult Leuen - it did not help them mend their built-upon-unfortunate-events relationship.)

“Shit- Virgil cursed. “That means we won’t be able to find the flower here now.”

“Great.”

The sarcasm in Leuen’s voice was unmissable. It made Roman want to choke him to death for the umpteenth time even though he knew it was actually impossible.

“We can go into town.” He suggested. “I’m sure we can buy one from someone.”

“Oh, you’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“And your guarantee means what, exactly?”

Roman breathed in and closed his eyes for a second but it was useless - the anger inside him had been building up for the entire evening. 

“Can you stop being an overly distrusting bitch for a second? Are you capable of that? Should I call a professional, cause babe, we can get some help for you if you need it!”

Leuen strode over to his side, with little change in his expression, and spoke to him as if he was a child who couldn’t yet understand complex sentences, “You don’t trust me and I don’t trust you. Excuse me if I don’t believe everything you say.”

“Someone as guarded as you must be afraid of something.” Virgil interrupted. “You don’t like his idea? Fine, suggest a better one instead of tanking his.”

“...”

“Go on, use your brilliant ghost mind for something.”

“...”

“Yes?”

“FINE, let’sjustgointotown.”

Roman, who had been staring at his friend in amusement, shook his head and turned his focus back on their spirit… spirit… he was barely a companion, he was more of a… hyper attentive watchdog. Except he wasn’t looking out for the witches, but for himself.

“Thank you, for your cooperation.” He shot, “If all else fails, I have a backup plan.”

“What backup plan?”

“I’m not sharing until I know we’ll need it.”

“Sure.” This is when Virgil started walking again. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls leave a comment <3


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a comment!

Finding someone to sell them a sunlight flower proved itself to be a task more difficult than they anticipated it to be. Apparently, the storm from earlier had quite a lot of casualties and just before they arrived, the town had been hit with a few lighting bolts, some of which made a few tree trunks fall - blocked some roads and caused some casualties. This is important to note since the sunlight flower had healing properties as well as its useful properties for witch spells, which means it had been on high demand by the time they got to town. And aside from that, the flower had utilities in making scented candles, scented sticks and perfumes. The group was having the absolute worst time trying to get one for themselves. 

Neither witches, nor the spirit with zero material possessions, had enough money to make a trade for it.

“How come neither of you have the damn flower at home?”

Some accusatory remark coming from the very own Doctor Duke of Evil himself. While Roman restrained himself, yet again, from jumping at Leuen’s neck, Virgil answered after clicking his tongue in an impatient gesture.

“We just don’t use it a lot at home.”

“Well then, we resort to stealing one.”

“What?!’ The witches protested together. 

“See, the spell doesn’t work without it now, does it? So we steal once, since we can’t seem to buy one.”

“... Your lack of morals scare me.”

“Loo-“

“You-“ Roman pointed at Leuen, “have incredibly horrible ideas. We’re not stealing anything, I-“ He huffed, “Time for my backup plan. He’s… a last resort kind of option which is why I didn’t say anything before. He lives around here so…”

Taking the lead, he begins walking while he hoped the other two would follow without many questions. They did. Without any questions at all. Now, if that was because they trusted the idea one hundred percent or because they were waiting to see what the idea was before making judgements… Roman knew it was the second option. They would’ve have questions later.

Well, Virgil had one question, and seemingly it was very important since he broke his unspoken vow to ignore Roman.

“How much do you trust this guy, Roman?”

He sighed before answering, “Not a lot but we don’t exactly have a long catalogue of options.”

Virgil groaned. “If we get into trouble for any of this, I’ll kill you.”

This made Roman chuckle half heartedly,  _ I should be saying that to you. _

“What?”

He stopped and faced his friend. “I never wanted to do this, Virgil! You pushed me into it. Be mad at me all you want, but I am not doing this to be a hero, or because it’s the right thing to do, I’m doing it because of you. So take that as you will.”

And with that, Roman resumed the walk while Virgil stayed behind, processing what he had said. Leuen went behind him, smirking with the smuggest look on his face. The witch didn’t have to turn to face him to notice this, the spirit radiated I-am-now-very-smug energy. And he couldn’t leave the situation be without giving his input.

“I see you grew a spine.”

“Fuck off.”

“I’m giving you a piece of advice, not because I personally like you but because this entire dispute you’re having is ever so entertaining to me, but- both of you are in the wrong in some way and if you want to leave things on a good note, acknowledge what you did and call him out on his bullshit. You did one, now do the other.”

“Since whe-“

“I told you, now where is the man’s house again?”

Roman sighed, “Not far,” then he raised his voice, “Virgil, don’t fall behind!”

The house they stopped in front off, even watching it from the outside, seemed crowded. Was Remy throwing a party? At noon? Well, it wasn’t all that surprising to Roman. Since he never know what exactly to expect from the man, nothing he did was unexpected out of him (18). His companions, however, seemed to represent perfectly the feeling of confusion.

(18: That is how you remain a mystery, Remy would later in life confess to Roman. The man liked to keep people guessing, but also, not get close to anyone. Until he did, but that’s not part of this story, sorry dear readers.)

“Just ignore it.” Roman instructed, walking inside. “I’ll find Remy, you do as you please.”

The spirit followed him, as he assumed he would. As for Virgil, he did as well. Being alone among strangers was not his thing, Roman knew.

All three of them navigated through the sea of individuals who all seemed either drunk or high, moving like slugs blocking their path in all directions. The men didn’t know exactly where around the house Remy was either, so that was just one of the hiccups on their way.

Some fifteen minutes later, they managed to find the party’s host. Remy lied on the kitchen floor, feet up in the air as he, very off key, sang an old nursery rhyme with sunglasses on. His white shirt was also so stained with coffee, it looked more brown than white. 

It seemed as though he didn’t see the three of them hovering above him. To remedy this, Roman poked at Remy’s side with the beak of his boot. This made him sit, frog style, holding onto his feet.

“Roman, honey!” He greeted. “Long time no see, how’ve you been, tell me everything!”

“He’s already annoyed me more in five seconds than both of you together did in hours.”

Leuen hadn’t bothered lowering his voice to say this. Perhaps he thought Remy wouldn’t see or hear him, he was just a spirit after all - the only reason Roman and Virgil saw them was because they had training and they had been in contact with the medium that summoned him. He thought neither of those conditions applied to Remy (19).

(19: Although, I can say, seeing all possibilities of this story, that Leuen would have said what he did, even if he knew Remy was able to see and hear him.)

The host stood up and faked a smile directed at the spirit. “Love you too, hun.”

Roman stepped in between them. “I- well, Remy, pardon my companion. We are all… mildly stressed. There is a sensitive issue we must take care of.”

“Ah yes, Halloween is drawing to a close. What do you need, honey?”

“A sunlight flower.”

“Ahhhh-“ Remy dragged out the word for a bit. “I have that.”

“I figured.”

“What are you willing to give to me for it?”

“Your safety?”

“No dice.”

“Yeah… had to try. Let me see… What would you like?”

“Good question!” He remarked with glee.

As the man began to pounder, pacing back and forth around the kitchen counter, meanwhile Virgil stood by Roman’s side and grabbed his arm (20). 

(20: Roman ignored the jolt of joy he felt when Virgil did this. He was sure, that by no means, that meant that his friend had forgiven him but for that moment, those two minutes, it felt like he had.)

“I don’t like this.” He whispered.

“It’ll be okay, Virge.”

The younger witch snickered as he kept his eyes on Remy. “Sure it will.”

“HA!” That’s when the man turned on his heels, “I believe you scored some Crystinally tickets a while ago. Am I right, honey?”

Roman sensed his jaw clenching, “Yes.”

“Oh no, no- We are not giving you those, Ro-“

“Relax, I only want one.” Remy held a finger up close to his own lips. “Roman won’t mind giving me his, now would he?”

If it meant getting the flower, and that Virgil wouldn’t lose his ticket, then yes, Roman wouldn’t mind. Ah well, not minding way a strange way to put. He would do it, but not happily so. He shuffled for the ticket inside his bag and held it close to his chest with one hand, while the other he used it to make a gesture, charging Remy.

“The flower first, please.”

The other laughed and began to walk off. “Of course, of course. Gimme a second, honey.”

Virgil protested right after. “Roman, what the hell-“

“Sh, Virgil, we’re getting what we want.” Leuen interrupted.

“But-“

“He can do without watching a crystal show for another year.”

“Roman-“

“I’m fine with this, Virge. It’s just a show and it happens every year.”

“Just a-“ Virgil cleared his throat and coughed, his voice was getting too strained. “Just a show, Roman, really?”

“I-“

“Virgil,” Leuen spoke again, “drop it.”

This wasn’t one of his usual rude, snarky and mocking remarks. Leuen had a sensibility and softness to his voice then, as if he understood that it did pain Roman to give the ticket up and that it would pain him more if Virgil kept arguing. It made Virgil stare at the spirit with furrowed eyebrows and wide eyes. It even surprised Roman, to some extent. 

“What, you-“ The younger witch sighed, shaking his head in defeat. “Fine. Dropping it.”

The older witch mouthed him a thank you. His instinct was to avoid doing the same with Leuen, but he made sure to force the eye contact afterwards. 

“Here it is.” Remy interrupted as he walked in, holding the sunlight flower he had promised.

They switched objects at the same time. Roman pulled out his spell book and carefully, in between two pages, set the flower. Closing it, he then pushed it back inside his bag.

“That should keep it in good condition until we have to use it for the spell.” He explained. “Now, we have a mountain to climb.”

Virgil widened his eyes at the announcement. “Excuse me, what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading ❤️


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic has been a lot of fun to write, i have all chapters done, i think there are only two more, i just need to edit everything and i loved writing every part of it, i really hope you guys like it as much as i do

The mountain to be climbed was not metaphorical, as Virgil questioned way before they arrived. For the spell to work, it needed to be performed at the highest point of their country and Pliyar mountain was it. 

By nightfall they got at the foot of it. The dark sky made their situation extra spooky and normally, both witches would have adored it. But then again, normally, they wouldn’t be at the foot of a mountain to cast a spell to save their town from evil chaotic spirits.

“We are actually climbing all the way to the top?”

“Sorry Leu,” Roman replied with some teasing, “unless you have some sort of ghost power, yes, you must. Virgil and I can just levitate our way up.”

“WhAT-“

“Yeah… we can’t levitate you though.” He replied with some regret…

He did want to help him get up the mountain but really, levitating someone else was dangerous. Levitating yourself was already full of issues for witches in training and Roman had had way too much training for it, which is why he was confident he could do it. However, doing the same spell on someone else? He had never tried it before. And even with Leuen not being able to die again, Roman was pretty sure the spirit could still get sick. Or insanely annoyed. 

“Ugh-“ Leuen grunted but moved and began making his way up.

The witches watched him for a few seconds before Virgil turned to Roman with a question. “Erm, you never told me we could levitate, why?”

Roman gasped and put a hand over his heart. ”Excuse me, I taught you this last week.”

“Right, when I was high on fever medicine (21).”

(21: Ah yes, High On Fever Medicine Virgil was the most hilarious being, only because he could not stop laughing about the most ridiculous things - like how the curtain flapping on the windows make a funny sound - and force stupid puns that actually make no sense which… makes everything he says funnier, somehow. High On Fever Medicine Virgil also had a myriad of memory problems.)

“Yes, now-“ Roman rubbed his hands together, “I’ll just have to teach you again. HOWEVER (22), we will need to rest once we reach the top, Virgil. The spell requires a lot of energy, from both of us, and we have used a lot of magic today already.”

(22: He shouted this word, yes, for the dramatic effect.)

“We don’t have the time!”

This had been Leuen shouting from just a couple of inches above their heads. It was nice to know he cared enough to eavesdrop. 

“Chill, Casper, we have till midnight, it’s only seven pm.” He turned to his friend. “Alright, Virgil, you ready?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“This is tricky, so pay attention. You must have balance, a bit of muscle strength, as well as focus, of course.”

“Of course.”

“So repeat after me.”

“... Okay.”

“Sopri, levi, hovi.”

“Sopri, levi, hovi.”

“Good.”

“Nothing happened.”

“We’re not there yet, c’mon.”

“Fine.”

“Marvelous! Now- before you say the words you have to throw this-“ he held out a small vial with blue power, “at your feet.” But he pulled it back before Virgil could credit. “Don’t smash the glass, please, I wanna keep it.”

“Alright, I promise.”

“Thank you.”

So, both witches titled their vials and the blue powder slipped off of it, down to the floor on the spot where they stood. Roman said the words first and he was levitating in no time. Virgil followed suit, however his balance was less than ideal. Stifling a laugh, Roman watched as his friend struggled to stay still.

“You’re doing great.”

“I- AH-“ Virgil himself tilted too far left and recovered, “I see y- Shhhhhhhi- I see you laughing, Kastler.”

“I have something good to laugh at.”

“When I leave youwithtwopurpleeyesyou’llseeifyou’llstillhavesomethinggoodtolaughat.” He said it all in one breath before falling down, just a couple of inches. “OOOOAAAH- DAMMIT!” 

“I did not get that but, Virge, stop looking down, it only makes you nervous and unfocused.”

“REALLY, I HADN’T NOTICED!”

Even as he yelled the sarcastic remark, Virgil took the advice and they began to ascend side by side. When they passed by Leuen, Roman saluted at him and moved on, without seeing the spirit’s childish reaction. 

Once they got to the top, the witches let themselves fall on their butts. Silence reigned once again but this time, Roman was compelled to break it.

“Could I please explain why I kept Dahlia’s mission a secret from you?”

“Do you want me to get madder?”

“... I’d like to think you’d understand why reasons.”

Virgil sighed as pondered for a moment. “We’ll see. Go on.”

Shaking both his hands, Roman begins, “First, I never thought we’d be here, in this position. Dahlia told me that there were other witches who could perform the spell. I don’t know if she lied or if all those people just… disappeared- maybe worse. Two (23), I did not want to scare you, make you afraid of going out every Halloween - it’s your favorite holiday! And third… this, it might make me a horrible person but I never wanted to be here in the first place. I didn’t want you to do exactly what you did and ask me to perform the spell - I knew I’d never be able to say no, even if you had just nicely asked me and not… forced me into it.” Virgil looked like the was about to interrupt, protest those last sentences, but Roman continued, “Look, I get it, I do, I just- I’m scared, okay? Just scared of having the same fate Dahlia had.”

(23: Roman had forgotten he had initiated his numeral system with ordinal numbers and not cardinal numbers. He’d realized this halfway through his second point but also decided to just roll with it by the third point.)

After listening and processing, Virgil snickered. However, when he spoke again his lips wobbled and his voice cracked, ever so slightly. 

“Wow… so many weak excuses.”

Roman saw through the facade and nodded. “I know.”

“You’re still an ass for lying.”

“That I am.”

His friend gulped before speaking again, choked up. “Why- Why do you have to care so much about me, you dolt?”

“You deserve that much, Virge.”

“Stop being so sappy.”

“Never.” Roman stood up. “I shall shout to all seven worlds (24) that Virgil Parkins deserves to be cared about!”

(24: By seven worlds, Roman hadn’t referred to seven different planets or dimensions or anything else related, he had actually referred to seven different main occupations in their town; the witches, the mediums, the guardians, the teachers, the builders, the providers and the healers. Before his parents died and before taken in by Dahlia, Roman had dabbled in all seven of them.)

Virgil snickered yet again but blushed. “Shut up.”

The older witch sat back down in frog position, holding his legs by the ankles. “I hope you can forgive me.”

“I’ll tell you after we’re done here.”

“NO FAIR!”

“All the fair.”

“... Good point.”

“Do you think Leuen’s close yet?”

“Yeah, probably.” He shouted the next part, “LEUEN?”

“What, you asses?” The spirit replied, his voice sounding not that far away.

“He’s close.”

And just a minute later, they see his arm rest on the edge of the cliff before he pulled himself up. His figure flickers frequently like a malfunctioning hologram. As he hunched his back forward, he holds his head as if it hurt. If he still had lungs, he’d be catching his breath.

“I’m too dead for this.”

“We still have time, rest up.” Roman shot at him.

“What?”

“You look like you’re literally about to disappear, just take a breather.”

“Ye, however you do not exactly need me for anything so why do you care?”

Blinking in rapid succession, he shrugged. “Well, you can just die all over again if you’d like.”

“I-... no, thank you.”

“Good, now, Virge, I’ll start explaining how to make firework sparks. I bought everything for it already, cause well… I had been planning on making fireworks at the Crystinally but this will do.”

“You were stupid to give up your ticket.”

“LETS’SMOVEPASTIT- here,” Roman began to take the ingredients out of his bag and set them out before them; a number of vials with different colored powders inside, a roll of white paper and a box of matches.

“Are we burning something?” Virgil inquired, pulling his head back.

“Yes, but later. For now, just watch.”

The older witch picked up a vial and poured its contents onto the paper’s edges, making a square. He did the same with the rest of the vials, pouring all of them in smaller squares as they reached the center of the paper until it was all covered up. Then, he proceeded to roll up it, closing the edges with the paper itself. 

“Now, we wait.”

“Huh?” Virgil question as he took the object.

“We need to recharge. You’ll need to channel a lot of magic into that before setting it on fire.”

“Oh-”

“Yeah.”

A minute of silence.

Roman broke it to turn to Leuen and ask, “You okay there?”

The spirit huffed. “Never better.”

“Oh, don’t be so damn optimist now!” Roman shot back. “But, don’t sweat it, Leuen. We still have four hours left.”

“... Well, you are being awfully kind to me.”

“I just don’t want to hear you complaining all the time, Haunter, my ears can only take so much.”

“Right…”

As he returned to his previous stance, Roman saw the confusion in Virgil’s face.

“Out with it.”

Virgil leaned in and whispered, “What did make you change how you act around him, Roman? He hasn’t been the best company so far.

“I suppose. But he has also shown me a bit of kindness. I don’t believe he is fully… and asshole.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that he has mostly been an asshole since he freaking met.”

“He’s doing okay now, Virge, I think he’s just annoyed and… scared. (25) Just- Virge, I’m not asking you to be all buddy buddy with him, I’d just like to give him a chance, that’s all.”

(25: Since when was the witch able to read the spirit so well, he didn’t know. It happened and now he seemed to have a degree in Leuen’s non verbal communication.)

At this, Virgil took a moment before sighing and replying, “Fine! But I’ll be on the lookout.”

With a world of fondness in his voice, Roman answered. “Of course you will. I’m counting on it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a comment!


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy

As midnight neared, the three men (26) prepared themselves, one to cast the spell, the second to teach how to cast the spell and the third… well, to watch. Roman took the lead, giving the other two orders: Virgil was to summon a cauldron and perform the spell while Leuen... he was to keep watch. An interruption to what they planned to do would delay it and they couldn't afford that to happen with so much little time to work with. Roman would never admit Leuen’s concerns with time had been valid (27).

(26: As dead as one of the three was, Leuen was still a man, a manly man, a man who is manly!)

(27: The spirit himself knew this, of course.)

While the other two were occupied, Roman proceeded to take the rest of the ingredients out of his bag. All there was left inside now was the parchment paper and the sunlight flower squished between the pages of his spell book, along with a few other powders that were not required for the spell. That witch never left his house unprepared… even then, he couldn’t have predicted he would be in the position he was then.

"Alright, then." Virgil stepped towards him with a mini cauldron in his hands. "What do I do now?"

"Well, first - and I must say this hurts me -, you gotta tear the petals off and drop them in. Next, you take the parchment paper, tear that up too. And then... you set this," He showed him the roll of powders they had made, "on fire and throw it in too."

"That's all?"

He nodded. "That's all."

Virgil followed the instructions to a T. To lit the roll on fire, he had to search inside his own bag to grab a small transparent glass ball, then he crushed it with his own hand over the roll. A bit off blood got mixed it, he turned to face Roman with a panicked expression, questioning if that was supposed to happen. The older witcher simply mentioned for him to go on and once the roll began catching fire, Virgil threw it inside the cauldron. Soon, sparks began to fly around as colorful smoke rose up the walls and out of the recipient. It went up the air, carrying the pieces of parchment paper and pedals. In a matter of seconds, heavy rain started pouring - the water cleansing the air which they hadn't noticed was different until then. With the rain, it felt lighter and fresher. All the while, grey smoke rose from some spots, a sign that the evil spirits were being banished to behind the veil.

"Well," Leuen approached the witches, "this is nice to watch."

This made Roman remember. "Pull up our sleeve!"

"Huh? Y- OH!"

Upon revealing the bit of affected bit of his skin, the darkness and hardness it harbored before was gone. Instead what they all saw now was a bit of greyish and transparent tone, which, was how the rest of Leuen had looked because it was how normal spirits are supposed to look.

The surprised mixed with utter delight and relief on Leuen's face was unmissable. (27)

(27: As well as contagious! Contagious for all - only Roman - except Virgil since his skepticism kept him immune.)

Rubbing the spot, Leuen spoke, "It seems I can finally breathe again."

Virgil snorted in response, loving the irony of the statement, even if it was a semi sarcastic one. And the spirit, instead of shooting a snarky remarking, something the witches had already grown so used to, smirked.

"You seem to be in a much better mood." Roman remarked, watching the scene unfold.

"Why, yes!" Leuen teased. "Being slowly corrupted does tend to ruin someone's mood."

"Fair nough."

"And I suppose... perhaps, a show of gratitude is in order."

"Who are you and watch did you do with the grumpy runt we've been with all day?" Virgil questioned.

"Runt?"

"Yes."

The spirit shook his head before moving on. "Anyway, I do thank you, both of you. And if you ever need a favor, you know where I'll be."

"I have a feeling that asking you for a favor is the equivalent of making a deal with the devil."

He winked at the younger one. "This one will be for free. See you then."

"See you!" Roman waved as Leuen began to fade.

A minute of silence took over before Virgil broke it. "Will you ever ask him for a favor?"

"Perhaps." Roman smiled as they walked over to the edge. "I do not feel I need anything at the moment, except to get home. Can you levitate your way down?"

"Fuck you." Virgil snapped. "Yes I can, let's go."

Once they reached the ground, Roman was reminded of Crystinally again. His ticket was long gone, making another bargain with Remy was out of the question, but Virgil still held his.

"What are you gonna do with your ticket?"

"Huh?" 

"For Crystinally."

"... What should I do with it?"

Virgil held it out, staring down at it as they walked. In the night, the laminated paper lost it's light shifting properties, it looked like a normal dull ticket. But it was said that at the show, the ticket reflected the different colored lights from the crystals. Roman would have to wait another year to see that.

"You should go. I bet you can make it to see the rest of the event, especially if you take a broom,"

"Alone?!" His friend shook his own head. "No way."

"Virge-"

"I'll think about what to do with it on the way home."

“You sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure someone else can make use out of it. I just have to think of who.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls leave a comment!


	7. Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is a bit of a shorter chapter but I feel it wraps up everything nicely, still leaving a bit of room for your guyses imagination!   
writing this story was honestly wild since it was originally just supposed to be a one shot, but how do you not get carried away writing a fantasy fanfiction with magic about your favorite characters, huh! In m defense, I loved how it turned out and I loved writing, it's honestly one of my favorites of my own works. And I hope you guys enjoyed Ro and Virge's journey as much as I did!  
Thank you for everyone who took the time to read it, especially to @Fullofanxiety and @Just_AnotherFangirl, who made my days commenting on every chapter, you are all amazing, thank you so so much!

The younger witch didn’t seem to have someone cross his mind until him and Roman were nearly at the front garden, at which point he dropped a ‘see ya, be right back’. Even though it was nearly 1 AM by the time they arrived home, he set off to find the guy. Roman was left to wait for his friend to come back, refusing to fall asleep until he did. Except, he had been up since 6 AM of the prior day, so by two in the morning his eyelids weighed down; by three he had gotten under a blanket and before four, he had clocked out.

And dreams tend to be something funny for witches, they were… sort of prophecies. Their connection to magic served as a way for them to understand things that most ordinary folk couldn’t. (28)

(28: See, once Roman dreamed that someone who looked exactly like him, down to every detail, sat down on a vast space to stitch up a veil that had been torn. Make of that what you will.)

Roman’s dreams on that morning were centered around a hooded figure who held the same veil he had stitched, the man who looked like Roman having giving it to him. And even though he couldn’t hear the person’s face, the voice was recognizable enough. There was a talk about said veil as well, but the with could not remembered what they spoke of.

At 10 AM, Virgil arrived home once again. His steps were light on the wood floorboards but just the door creaking had been enough to wake up Roman. 

“Virgil?” The sleepy one mumbled, rubbing one of your eyes. “Where did you go?” 

His friend took a seat a seat on the couch. “Remember Patton?” 

Roman squinted his eyes as he tried to recall if he did. “The street comedian?”

“No.”

“The journalist?”

“His husband.”

“OH!” He set up. “The florist!”

“Yeah, I got there and he was still awake for some reason. He told me that Logan had set off to the Crystinally yesterday because he’s supposed to cover the event. Pat himself couldn’t get a ticket so he stayed. Then I told him he could have mine, he insisted on paying for it but I left his money on the kitchen counter… after he stuffed me with some cookies and set off for the show. He let me also just… fall asleep there since I was basically a walking zombie at that point.”

“That’s very nice of you, Virge but… are you sure you didn’t want to watch the show?”

“You know I did, I just didn’t want to go alone.”

“... So you wanted to go with me specifically?”

“How’d you figure?” Virgil challenged, arms crossed over his chest. 

“You wouldn’t have gotten that upset over me trading my ticket for the flower if you didn’t.”

“I didn’t-“

“Yes, you did.”

“Fine!” Virgil sighed. “I wanted to go to Crystinally with my stupid narcissistic best friend. Why do you make it so much more difficult for me to like you?”

“Nah, you love me.”

“You wish.” Virgil teased.

“UGH!” The other gasped as he dramatically clenched his chest.

“This is what I’m talking about.”

“Virgil.” He composed himself, a serious tone taking over his voice, “you are my best friend and I’ll love you till forever.”

“You fucking sap-“ Virgil turned away. “I love you too.”

“Look at you, showing affection, I’m so proud of you.”

“Whatever-“ He punched Roman’s arm, lightly, “but listen… are we gonna have to do this again next year?”

“You mean the spell?” Roman hummed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, it depends. If we can find someone else to do it in time, then no, we will not. But I should be honest Virge, I have a feeling this might be our burden to bear for a while.”

His friend groaned and let his head fall back. “Shit.”

“Shit, indeed.”

“We can always count on Leuen, at least.”

“You really want to test my patience there.”

The comment made Roman laugh, full heartedly. “I’m kidding, Virgil. Whatever makes you most comfortable.”

“Then we start looking for that person as soon as next morning.”

“Alright.” The older witch felt a grin grow on his lips as someone’s name crossed his mind. “I suppose we can pay Thomas a visit. It might be hard for us to find him, but you’ll love him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls leave a comment!

**Author's Note:**

> Pls be kind and leave a comment! Thank you for reading


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